Career Options After Plant Biology

What is Plant Biology?

Plants and fungi play critical roles in ecosystems and are used for food, fiber, oil, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals, and they also can be employed to produce novel molecules of agronomic/ economic interest. This Major program in Plant Biology allows students to explore life on Earth from the molecular to the supra-organismal level, with a focus on plants and fungal systems and processes that underpin growth and development, stress physiology, nutrition and metabolism, molecular genetics, ecology and evolution, and biodiversity.

What Makes Plant Biology at UTSC unique?

This educational experience will allow students to recognize the unique niche of plants within the natural world and students will develop the cognitive and technical skills that are used to address local and global challenges. The program encourages active learning through its capstone course and by promoting participation in research activities.

Skills of Plant Biology Grads

Research, analyze, and develop understanding from various scientific literature sources

Your 4-Year Career Exploration Plan

1. Do Your Research

The databases below provide you with details about job prospects, nature of work, educational requirements, working conditions, pay and related career paths:

Career Cruising: Log into CLN, click on Resources, and click on Career Cruising to be logged in automatically

O*Net: online.onetcenter.org (U.S. site)

Attend our workshop Discover Your Skills and Career Options, meet with a Career Counsellor, and use our resources to get to know your skills, values, personality and interests.
Use the advice on our tip sheets for gathering info:

Information Interviews

Working On-Campus

Internships

Volunteering

2. Explore Career Options & Get Experience

Gain exposure to your options in the world of work and make connections while you’re a student via campus events and programs listed on CLN and CCR:

Extern Job Shadowing

In the Field

Explore It! (course-based)

Partners in Leadership (4th year students)

iLead, uLead, weLead (Dep’t of Student Life)

Employer Information Sessions

Career & Volunteer Fairs

Departmental Student Association Events

Apply for Work Study jobs in CLN in Fall and Spring! You might also find work via SCSU. Find networking opportunities, internship programs and entry-level jobs via websites like TalentEgg and CharityVillage. As an upper year student (14+ credits), attend UTSC’s Get Hired Conference and participate in Jobs for Grads. As a graduate, explore internships and other trainee programs like CareerEdge.

3. Build Your Network

Explore Professional Associations and get involved: volunteer for their events and conferences, and get to know people in your industry of interest. These are your future mentors, supervisors and colleagues!

Please note: This document is a starting point for your further research into career options in this field of study. For more information on this program and course requirements, please visit the departmental website at the top of the first page.

Stay connected

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.